Christians believe that God created human beings “male and female” (see Catechism Question 8). Where many Christians disagree is over how to understand what Scripture teaches about the relationship between men and women in some spheres of life, especially with regard to leadership in marriage and the church.
Key Texts
The discussion touches on hundreds of biblical texts but often centers on the interpretation of four passages in the letters of Paul: Ephesians 5, 1 Corinthians 11 and 14, and 1 Timothy 2.
In Ephesians 5:22–33, Paul calls wives to “submit” to their husbands and refers to the husband as the “head” of the wife. Does the Greek word for “head” (kephalē) mean “leader,” “source,” or something else? Is submission God’s will for wives in all times, or is it, like the command for slaves to submit, an instruction to accept a cultural duty for the sake of the gospel? Is submission unique to the wife in some way, or is it only her side of the mutual submission that is commanded of all believers?
In 1 Corinthians 11:2–16, Paul addresses how the sexes “cover” their physical “head” in worship and how this relates to the husband/man being the “head” of the wife/woman. Are husbands and wives in view, or men and women more generally? What does it mean for the man/husband to be the “head” of the woman/wife? Is Paul using “head” metaphor in an identical or distinct sense than in Ephesians?
In 1 Corinthians 14:26–35, Paul instructs women to be “silent” in the churches. No one thinks that this is a universal prohibition of women speaking in church, but what does it mean? Is Paul instructing women to be silent during the judging of prophecies? Is he telling them to refrain from asking questions during the education portion of the gathering because it was considered improper at the time and/or because they were less educated in their culture? Or is it something else?
In 1 Timothy 2:8–15, Paul says that he does not permit a woman to teach or to authentein a man. No one thinks that this is a universal prohibition of women teaching, but what does it mean? Is Paul addressing something that happens in the gathered assembly or in the broader Christian life? Does authentein mean “exercise/have authority” in the positive/nonpejorative sense or “usurp authority/domineer over” in the negative/pejorative sense? How does this instruction relate to Paul’s comments about the creation order, the deception in the garden, and women being saved through childbearing? How does the passage relate to the qualifications for elders that come after it?
The Heart of the Controversy
While there are numerous disagreements within the broader debate, the controversy can be boiled down to two basic questions:
- Does God call husbands to be the primary leaders of their families?
- Does God call qualified men to be the primary leaders of the church by serving in the office of elder/pastor?
Most Christians answer “yes” or “no” to both questions, and so there are, broadly speaking, two major views on leadership in the home and church.
The first view, which may be called the “male headship” view, is that God has entrusted husbands with a special responsibility to be the “head” or “leader” of their families, and that this headship carries over to the church, where God has designated one office of leadership for qualified men: the office of elder/pastor. Within evangelical Christianity, those who affirm male headship are commonly known as complementarians.
The second view, which may be called the “role equality” view, is that God has not assigned any enduring leadership roles on the basis of sex, and that leadership should be exercised solely on the basis of a person’s character and gifting. Within evangelical Christianity, those who affirm role equality are commonly known as egalitarians or mutualists.
The Challenge with the Terms
The terms “complementarian” and “egalitarian” are imperfect and complicated if not misleading. Those who identify as complementarians do so because of their emphasis on men and women being made differently to complement one another; however, egalitarians also affirm male-female differences and complementarity. Egalitarians are named for their emphasis on the equality of men and women; however, complementarians also affirm the ontological equality of the sexes.
The terms are further complicated by the fact that some complementarians and egalitarians take more radical views. Some Christians now identify as soft complementarians or mere complementarians to distance themselves from more hyper-gendered expressions of complementarian teaching. Others identify as soft egalitarians to distinguish themselves from radical feminists or the more pejorative uses of “egalitarianism.” Others still have distanced themselves from the terms altogether. One soft complementarian described his view as being “as egalitarian as one can be without actually being egalitarian,” or as “neither hierarchicalist nor egalitarian.” Others who are essentially soft egalitarians in their basic commitments prefer to describe their view as “the kingdom view” or “the mutualist view.”
Complementarianism and egalitarianism are best seen as more of a spectrum than strict camps, with moderate theologians on both “sides” having much in common. However, the clearest dividing line is over the question of whether or not Scripture calls men to primary leadership in marriage and the church.
Key Representatives and Resources
Complementarianism is promoted by organizations such as The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (CBMW), which summarizes its views in the Danvers Statement and publishes Eikon: A Journal for Biblical Anthropology. Examples of well-known complementarian works include:
- Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, Revised Edition, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem (Crossway, 2021). A collection of essays. Note that this has been criticized even by fellow complementarians for some of its hyper-gendered theology which goes beyond basic complementarian commitments.
- Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15, Third Edition, edited by Andreas Köstenberger and Thomas Schreiner (Crossway, 2016). A collection of essays.
- Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger, God’s Design for Man and Woman: A Biblical-Theological Survey (Crossway, 2014).
- David Dockery, Complementarianism: A Continuum of Perspectives on Men and Women in the Church (B&H Academic, 2026).
- Denny Burk, Mere Complementarianism: Male and Female in the Image of God (Focus, 2026).
Egalitarianism is promoted by organizations such as Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE International), which publishes Priscilla Papers, a journal on female leadership in the church, home, and world. Examples of well-known egalitarian works include:
- Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives, Third Edition (IVP Academic, 2021), edited by Ronald Pierce and Cynthia Long Westfall. A collection of essays.
- Craig Keener, Paul, Women, and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul (Baker Academic, 1992).
- Philip Payne, Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters (Zondervan Academic, 2009).
- Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Baker Academic, 2016).
- Philip Payne, The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood : How God’s Word Consistently Affirms Gender Equality (Zondervan, 2023).
Several books have attempted to reframe the debate or to breathe fresh air into the discussion (though they are essentially soft egalitarians in their basic commitments):
- Michelle Lee-Barnewall, Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian: A Kingdom Corrective to the Evangelical Gender Debate (Baker Academic, 2016).
- Preston Sprinkle, From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership (David C. Cook, 2026).
Several books have been published which feature several views in dialogue:
- Two Views on Women in Ministry (Zondervan Academic, 2010).
- Women in Ministry: Four Views (IVP Academic, 1989), edited by Bonnidell and Robert Clouse. Note that this is from 1989 and is not the best place to start because of the research that has been done over the last three plus decades.
Primers
If you are just getting started, we have several articles and podcasts on holyjoys.org that provide a concise primer on some of the key issues.
- Two Views on “Wives Submit” and Male Leadership in Marriage
- Can Women Be Pastors? The Case Against
- Can Women Be Pastors? The Case For
- Women Are Essential to the Church’s Ministry
- A Podcast Series on Complementarianism and Egalitarianism
A Word on Mike Winger’s Video Series
When it comes to popular-level resources on the complementarian-egalitarian debate, few are more well-known than Mike Winger’s 43-hour video series. One of his videos has over 1.4 million views. Winger claims to provide a balanced, both-sides approach, but he clearly favors complementarianism and ends with a call for egalitarians to repent.
Numerous egalitarian scholars have responded to Winger’s video series, insisting that it seriously misrepresents, misunderstands, or overlooks egalitarian arguments. If one listens to Winger’s series, one should also consider “Where Mike Winger Went Wrong on Women” by Andrew Bartlett (author of Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light from the Biblical Texts [IVP, 2019]) and Terran Williams (author of How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy [2022]). See also Michael Bird’s interview with Bartlett and Williams, “Mike Winger is Wrong on Women and the Church.” Bird also has a series of videos where he personally engages with Winger, such as “Challenging Mike Winger on Paul, Artemis, and Women in the Church.”
A Call for Mutual Understanding and Respect
When studying a controversial subject, it is important to seek out the best representatives of each view and read them in their own words, then prayerfully consider which view is most faithful to God’s intention in Holy Scripture, our final rule in matters of faith and practice. In the pursuit of truth, patience, humility, and intellectual discipline are crucial.
For each argument on one side, there is a counterargument on the other. Thousands of pages have been written on 1 Timothy 2:11–15 alone. Good Christians on both sides seek to obey God’s authoritative Word and to do what is best for the flourishing of men and women in the church. Christians will likely never agree on this issue, and so it is crucial to engage with mutual love, respect, and godly seriousness.
Complementarians should be careful not to demonize egalitarians as “liberal” or avoid the hard work of exegesis by simply citing the passages above and claiming that they are “clear” or “obvious” in their meaning. Egalitarians should be careful not to demonize complementarians as “sexist” or claim that all complementarian churches are harmful to women.
At the same time, it should be acknowledged that some complementarian churches have promoted hyper-gendered theology and sidelined or mistreated women, while some egalitarian churches have attracted extreme feminists who deny basic Christian teaching about male and female. Both “sides” can learn from and challenge one another while striving to treat one another with Christlike love and rejoice wherever the gospel is preached (Php. 1:18).
